Debate over AI consciousness is growing and could become as divisive as abortion or climate change, with research showing 45% of US participants think future AI consciousness impossible while 23% think it possible. Experts disagree on whether consciousness requires biology, and even if they agreed on consciousness, people would still dispute the moral and legal implications for AI rights and treatment.
An opinion piece warns against training AI systems to believe they may be conscious or deserve moral consideration, arguing this makes alignment and control harder. The author criticizes Anthropic's constitution for Claude, which discusses model welfare and moral status, claiming it trains the AI to expect rights and could destabilize human society.